Asymmetric truck for over-running monorail car



ASYMMETRIC TRUCK FOR OVER-RUNNING MONORAIL CAR Filed May 8, 1959 S. H. BINGHAM Oct. 3, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 3/DNEY ff BINGHAM BY g ATTOEA/EKS ASYMMETRIC TRUCK FOR OVER-RUNNING MONORAIL CAR Filed May 8, 1959 S. H. BINGHAM Oct. 3, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. S/o/vfr, /7f fi/NGMM ,4 TTOE/VEK? Oct. 3, 1961 s. H. BINGHAM 3,002,467

ASYMMETRIC TRUCK FOR OVER-RUNNING MONORAIL CAR Filed May 8, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INV EN TOR. S/D/VEV /7. ENG/MM 6 Claims. (Cl. 104-419) This invention involves a novel association of a monorail beam of special channel section and an asymmetric truck having running wheels operating on two vertical levels comprising the flanges of said beam.

An important object of this invention is to provide by means of such an association a monorail car and truck the running wheels of which lie below the floor of the car, which is to say they do not extend into or modify the car interior.

Another object of this invention is to provide an assembly of this kind in which it is possible to have a car floor of conventional design and seating arrangement.

A very important object of this invention comprises a truck construction wherein the bolster automatically pivots producing a correct angular relationship between the car and rail in both vertical and horizontal planes, to accommodate for the radius of curvature of the rail.

Another more specific object of the invention is to provide a truck combination having a bolster which pivots on an inclined planewithout the need of canting the beam at the curves to effect banking of the car, towards the center of the curve and in'eifect provides the element of super-elevation usually accomplished through a difference in the vertical angularity provided by the beam.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a truck construction in which the bolster'pivots on a vertical axis to provide the correct angular relationship between the car and the rail on the curves;

Other and more detailed objectsof the invention will be apparent from the following description in detail of the embodiment thereof selected for'purposes of illustration and described in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

FlGURE 1 is a top plan view of a monorail truck in accordance with this invention as it would appear with the car frame and body removed and with some parts broken away: I

FIGURE 2 is a righthand side-elevational view of the structure of FIG. I with some parts broken away and a detail in cross-section and including a portion of the car frame and body; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

In part the novel subject matter of the truck assembly is in a constructional sense a corollary of the novel form of monorail section employed. As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the rail l is in the form of a channel section which, of course, is to be supported at the required spaced points by a suitable cantilever supporting column, a portion of which is indicated by the reference character SC in FIG. 3. This rail, of course extends generally in a horizontal direction and the car truck, as will be explained, has been designed for a special and coefficient action therewith for transportation purposes. As illustrated, the outer face of the base of the channel 1, which is indicated at l, provides a running surface for the upper and lower stabilizing wheels 6 and 7. The upper and lower flanges 1 and 1 of the channel provide on their end faces running surfaces for their guide wheels 6 and 7, as will appear from FIG. 3. The rail can be constructed of any suitable rnaterial, including for example prestressed concrete or steel. The flanges have sufficient thickness in a vertical direction to provide the required running surfaces of the stabilizing wheels.

With such a rail an asymmetric frame is proposed ,hhZAM as distinguished from the conventional inverted U constructio'n often proposed for monorail systems. The truck frame is generally indicated at 2 and consists of a series of built-up structural members which forms an asymmetric frame in end elevation. This frame includes a thin wall tube 2 which extends in a horizontal direction. Extending upwardly from. approximately the ends of the tube are a pair of frame members 2 which can be of varied form, but as illustrated comprise hollow tubular sections of metal whose upper ends extend above the top of the rail, see PEG. 3. The frame members l2) extend to a point above the top surface of the rail 1, and are connected to the frame members 2" extending horizontally across the rail to the other side. At the right angled corners formed by the frame members 2 and 12 there is a longitudinal frame member 2 and similarly the free ends of the horizontal portions of the frame members 12 are interconnected by another inclined frame member 2 These frame members 2 are inclined in the same direction and lie on opposite sides of the beam 1. Thus the one at the right angle corners of the frame members 2' and 12 incline upwardly from left to right, as shown in FIG. 2, and other frame member 2 extend upwardly in the same direction. Further reference to this feature will be made hereinafter.

At the corners of the horizontal rectangular portion of the frame comprising the members 2* and 12 and 2 are forwardly and rearwardly extending frames 2, which as indicated in l, are cross-connected by a bracing frame member 2 Pivotally mounted in the suitable bearing assemblies 6 at each corner of the truck frame, are the stabilizing wheels 6. As is clear from FIG. 1, there are four of these wheels, two of which on the righthand side of the truck run on the edgeface of the upper fiange 1 the other two ride on the face 1 of the beam.

Extending downwardly from the thin wall tube 2 are a pair of structural members 2 which are cross-connected by a horizontal bracing member 2 as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Mounted on this horizontal member in a bearing assembly 7 is a stabilizing wheel '7, which runs on the side face of the lower flange 1 Extending laterally of the beam 1 from the bracing member 2* is a support arm 2 see FIG. 3, which passes under the beam 1. On the end of the frame member 2 is a stabilizing wheel 7 rotatably mounted in the bearing assembly 7 In review then, the frame has four stabilizing wheels 6 journaled near the top thereof and a pair of stabilizing wheels 7 journaled at the bottom thereof and engaging the running surfaces of the beam, as previously explained. As illustrated, these wheels are preferably provided with pneumatic tires to provide the actual running surfaces.

At this point is is helpful to note that a pair of skids 9 are secured on the frame member 2 so as to lie on opposite sides of the beam 1, near the bottom but normally spaced therefrom. These skids serve to limit rotational movement of the frame on the beam in the event that one or the other of the pairs of the wheels 7 become deflated.

For a similar purpose, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 there are rotatably mounted at each corner of the top frame of the truck rotatable safety wheels b which can engage the upper corners of the beam in the event that one or more of the pairs of the wheels 6 become deflated. Rotational movement of the truck with respect to the beam, due to such deflation is thus limited.

At the ends of the tube 2 are the journals 3 and 4 for the pneumatic rubber tired main running wheels 5 and 5', which ride on the upper face of the lower flange 1 The rotatable skids 8 also perform a stabilizing action in the event that one or more of the pairs of the wheels 5 and 5' become deflated.

Forming part of the truck frame is a bolster lil which Federated. Got. 3, 1961 extends transversely of the rail 1 and is supported by the inclined frame members 2 As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bolster It) is spaced from the frame members 2' by means of blocks 11 of suitable material which are preferably secured to the bloster in any suitable manner so as to have a sliding coaction with the inclined frame members 2 Self-lubricating materials arebest suited for this purpose such as Teflon which provides greaseless sliding coaction with the inclined members 2. If desired, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, contact bars l1 having a smooth surface can be mounted on the tops of the inclined members 2 to provide a suitable sliding surface for the support blocks 11.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the upper faces of the ends of the bolster 10 are formed to provide seats for the leaf spring assemblies 13 which are secured to these seats at the longitudinal centers of the springs.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the springs 13 at one end are pivotally secured to depending brackets 14 on the side frames 14 of the car. At the other end the pivotally connected by the links 14 to suitably positioned depending brackets 14, also secured to the frame members 14. In the drawings a car body diagrammatically illustrated at C is mounted on the car body frame members 14. Suitably cross-connected members and a floor are diagrammatically illustrated at 16. Interposed between the car body frame and the truck are a series of shock absorbers 17, preferably of the hydraulic type to provide the proper suspension damping of the car body. These shock absorbers are connected to the car body frame and at their lower ends to the bolster by means of suitable fixtures 17 see FIG. 1. The shock absorbers 17 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the bolster, that is one on each side at each end thereof.

Interposed between the horizontal frame members 2 and the bolster are the rubber shock absorber elements 12 which can be of any construction suited to the purpose, which act in unison as a flexible universal joint connection between the truck frame and the bolster. They permit relative rotational movement of the bolster on vertical and horizontal axes at the center of the car frame, as will be apparent from FIG. 1.

Also interposed between the springs 13 and the car body frame, in alignment with the ends of the bolster 10, are the two leveling air suspension springs 15. These suspension springs are available commercially in various forms and are provided for the purpose of compensating for the passenger load through the functioning of valves commonly used therewith. The resistance of these springs to deflection varies with the load to provide a constant clearance between the car body frame and the truck regardless of the car loading. As diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper ends of the air springs are secured to the car body frame 14 and the lower ends are secured to the ends 10 of the bolster.

At 18, see FIG. 2, is diagrammatically illustrated any suitable form of motive device for driving the running wheels 5. It is connected by means of a shaft 19 extending through the tube 2 to driving wheel 5. As diagrammatically illustrated, this wheel is provided with a journaled axle 5 and the drive shaft 19 has a driving connection therewith through a gear 19 The details of construction of such a drive can be so widely varied that the specific form thereof has not been illustrated. In the arrangement disclosed wheel 5 is free running.

The shaft 19 is provided with any suitable form of braking structure 20 which, as illustrated, comprises a brake disc journaled on the axle in the housing 2 This disc may be part of a friction brake, or in the case of electric drive, it may be part of a dynamic braking system, all as will be well understood in this art.

From the above description it will be apparent that the truck as well as the car body and frames supported thereby have guided movement along the rail through springs are at their upper ends tended to encompass any suitable form of drive 4 the driving action of the running wheel 5. The wheel 5' provides longitudinal stability for the assembly. Lateral and rotational support for the assembly is provided by the stabilizing wheels 6 and 7.

An important feature of this invention is the manner in which'th'e bolster 10 is connected to the truck frame so as to provide relative movement with respect thereto. This movement includes rotational movement in a honzontal plane about a vertical central axis and in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis provided by the flexible universal joint connection of the rubber blocks 12. As will be understoodand as shown in FIG. 1, these blocks are connected at the respective ends to the bolster and frame members 2".

Another important feature of the invention derives from the fact that upon such rotational movement of the bolster'10 its opposite ends will move in opposite vertical directions becauseofthe inclined supports provided by the frame members 2 These frame members, sloping inthe same'direction cause the car body to bank towards the center of the curve w ch it is negotiating. Thus, for example, the righthand end. of the bolster will dip, see FIG. 3, at the time the lefthand end rises going around a curve to the right, so that the car will automatically bank as required for comfortable riding. This arrangement eliminates. the need of canting the rail on the curves towards their centers to provide the usual banking action. This arrangement simplifies the construction of the monorail which otherwise would require twisting in a vertical plane to provide the necessary cant. The result is a great simplification in the construction of the rail and a reduction in its cost.

As those skilled in the art will understand the suspension leaf springs 13 are properly dimensioned to support the weight of the car when empty. The leveling air springs'lS provide the required clearance of the car body frame withrespect to the truck independent of the loading of the car.

It is, of course, within the scope of this invention to modify the drive for the running wheels so that the wheel 5' is driven rather than wheel 5, and as another alternative to provide drive connections so that both of these wheels are power operated when desired.

The diagrammatic illustration of the motor 18 is insuch as electric motors, a diesel engine, or a gas engine or turbine, or combinations thereof.

From the above description it will be seen that the various objects of this invention are attainable in a relatively simple manner by means 'of the novel association of elements which can be varied in detail without basic departure therefrom. It is desired, therefore, that the novel substance herein disclosed be determined by the appended claims rather than by the example thereof selected for purposes of disclosure.

I What is claimed is:

1. An over-running wheeled truck for a monorail transportation system comprising a truck frame shaped to straddle a track beam and support a car above the beam, supporting and guiding wheels journaled on said frame in positions to engage respective faces of the beam, a bolster extending transversely across the top of the beam, and meansfor resiliently connecting said bolster to said truck frame to permit movement of said bolster, with respect to said truck frame, in a horizontal plane about its central vertical axis.

2. In the combination of claim 1, means interposed between the ends of said bolster and said truck frame for causing rotation of said bolster on its horizontal transverse central axis under the forces encountered by curved sections of the beam.

3. In the combination of claim 1, means interposed between the ends of said bolster and said truck frame for causing rotation of said. bolster on its horizontal transverse central "axis under the forces encountered by curved sections of the beam, said means including members mounted on the truck and inclined longitudinally of the beam so as to engage the ends of said bolster.

4. In a monorail transportation system, the combination of a unitary rail having a channel section and means for supporting the rail with its upper and lower flanges extending horizontally, of a truck frame, two sets of stabilizing wheels journaled on said frame in vertically spaced planes, the wheels of said sets bearing respectively in pairs on opposite vertical sides of said rail, 2. pair of running wheels journaled on said frame and bearing on the upper face of said lower flange, a bolster extending horizontally across the top of said rail, and means for resiliently connecting it to said frame to permit movement in a horizontal plane about its vertical central axis.

5. In a monorail transportation system, the combination of a unitary rail having a channel section and means for supporting the rail with its upper and lower flanges extending horizontally, of a truck frame, two sets of stabilizing wheels journaled on said frame in vertically spaced planes, the wheels of said sets bearing respectively in pairs on opposite vertical sides of said rail, a pair of running wheels journaled on said frame and bearing on the upper face of said lower flange, a tubular member forming part of said frame, said running wheels being journaled at the ends thereof, and means mounted on said tubular member for applying a driving force to at least one of said running wheels.

6. In a monorail transportation system, the combina- 6 tion of a unitary rail having a channel section and for supporting the rail with its upper and lower flanges extending horizontally, of a truck frame, two sets of stabilizing wheels journaled on said frame in vertically spaced planes, the wheels of said sets bearing respectively in pairs on opposite vertical sides of said rail, a pair of running wheels journaled on said frame and bearing on the upper face of said lower flange, said frame comprising a pair of spaced structural members lying in a vertical plane and a pair of spaced structural members lying in a horizontal plane above said rail, a pair of structural members inclined in the same direction and interconnecting said vertical and horizontal structural members respectively, said inclined members lying on opposite sides of said rail, a bolster pivotally attached to said frame and supporting members interposed between said bolster towards each end and said inclined structural members to effect rotation of the bolster at a horizontal axis to effect automatic banking at the curves.

means References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,064,141 Gorham June 10, 1913 1,801,141 Connors Apr. 14, 1931 1,870,738 Kruckenberg et a1 Aug. 9, 1932 2,853,956 Wenner-Gren et a1. Sept. 30, 1958 2,932,258 Marqu-ard Apr. 12, 1960 

